


Life Is A Highway

by doctornineandthreequarters



Series: Iron Dad Bingo [24]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Fluff, Morgan Stark Is a Precious Angel, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Precious Peter Parker, Road Trips, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, What Endgame ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-19 00:50:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19346179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctornineandthreequarters/pseuds/doctornineandthreequarters
Summary: Tony wasn’t sure who’s idea was it, but somehow he found himself in a car with his wife, his five-year-old daughter, and Peter on the way to Bar Harbor, Maine. From New York.----Iron Dad Bingo #24- Trope: Road Trip





	Life Is A Highway

**Author's Note:**

> A nice little road trip fic to fill in square number twenty four for my Iron Dad Bingo. Enjoy!

Tony wasn’t sure who’s idea was it, but somehow he found himself in a car with his wife, his five-year-old daughter, and Peter on the way to Bar Harbor, Maine. From New York. 

Tony had wanted to fly. Flying was so much easier. As they drove, Happy, May, and Rhodey were flying over in his private jet. And yet Tony was driving up the coast. 

It had all started when Tony decided he wanted to rent a cabin in Bar Harbor. It was the perfect vacation spot. It was quiet and peaceful and the perfect place to unwind after saving the universe. Pepper immediately agreed when she heard it was a vacation with no work. The rest of the team could handle things for a little while. They deserved it. After all, Tony had saved the universe.

Morgan wasn’t too thrilled with the idea. She didn’t want to leave all her stuff and sleep in a different bed. She only agreed when Tony suggested bringing Peter along. 

But Peter grew very anxious when Tony mentioned flying. 

“I-I t-think I’ll pass,” The teenager had stuttered out, much to everyone’s dismay. And Morgan, who was usually very calm and even-tempered, threw a fit when she heard Peter wasn’t coming.

“It’s just a plane kid,” Tony had said. Until Peter went as pale as a ghost. And then Tony remembered a plane crash on Coney Island and a spaceship crash landing on an alien planet. And he realized why Peter was so anxious. 

The only way to go was by car. So they were driving from New York to Maine. The drive would take ten hours, if they did it all in one shot. But Morgan was five and couldn’t sit still for very long.

It was going to be a long trip.

* * *

It was only two hours in when Morgan got antsy.

“Daddy,” She whined. “I have to pee.” Tony sighed. It certainly didn’t help that he hadn’t slept well the night before. The nightmares weren’t surprising to him; he had kind of expected them. But it certainly didn’t help his sleep schedule. Especially when he was the one driving. He glanced at Pepper who gave him a sympathetic smile. 

“There’s a rest stop coming up ahead,” Pepper said gently. Tony nodded and drove towards it. After the car was parked, Pepper took Morgan out of the car and to the bathroom. Tony exited the car and leaned against, a cap pulled down to cover his face. He felt the car shift slightly and he turned to see Peter standing next to him. 

“Sorry you had to drive,” Peter said, a frown on his face. “You guys should’ve just flown. I could’ve taken a bus or something.” He looked down at his feet. It was clear from his posture that he felt guilty. Tony placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for kiddo,” Tony said. “So Morgan’s antsy,”

“And you seem annoyed,” Peter mumbled. Tony sighed. So his mood was obvious. 

“And I didn’t sleep well last night,” Tony said. “But that doesn’t mean this can’t be fun. Right?” Peter shrugged. Tony wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulder and pulled the teenager closer. The ride was going to take a long time, especially with a five-year-old in the car. There had to be some way to make it fun. 

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw Pepper and Morgan coming back over. Morgan was moving as quick as her little legs could carry her. Pepper was holding her hand, but having a hard time controlling the small child. Morgan pulled loose and ran over to Peter. Peter picked her up with ease. 

“I saw some doggies!” Morgan said excitedly. “They were over there.” Peter smiled at her excitement. “Mommy, daddy, can we go see the doggies?” Peter glanced at Tony who nodded. Morgan pointed and Peter carried her off in that direction, as she talked excitedly about the dogs she had seen. Tony watched them go, a soft sigh escaping his lips. Pepper stood in front of him, placing her delicate hands on his shoulders.

“Everything okay?” She asked. “I can drive for a little, if you want. Maybe you can get a few more hours of sleep?” Tony smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. That was what he loved about her; that she knew he had nightmares the previous evening and wasn’t pressing him about it. She was just being supportive.

“Just thinking,” Tony said. “Morgan’s not going to make it more than two hours at a time. And Pete’s feeling like that fact that we’re driving is his fault. So, I think I need to come up with something to salvage this drive.” Pepper’s lips quirked up into a smile.

“What did you have in mind?” Tony smirked and looked at the sign for the rest stop, calculating where they were.

“How far do you think we are from Cambridge?”

* * *

Peter stared wide-eyed at the campus before him. He couldn’t believe he was actually standing on the MIT campus. He had seen pictures and had obviously listened to a million stories about MIT from Tony and Rhodey. But being there was a whole different thing.

“Wow,” He muttered to himself.

“What do you think kid?” Peter turned his head to see Tony approaching, a smile on his face. 

“The campus is way cooler to see in person,” Peter said. Tony nodded and placed a hat on Peter’s head. 

“Your first MIT swag,” Tony said. “Kid in admissions gave it to me. I did have to take a selfie with him, but it was worth it.” Peter smiled widely, adjusting the hat on his head.

“Thanks Mister Stark,” Peter said. “And thanks for stopping by here. I’ve always wanted to see the campus in person.”

“Well you’ve got to get used to it,” Tony said. “Since you’ll be going here and all. Harley already stabbed me in the back by going to Columbia. So no pressure kid, but my hopes and dreams of one of my kids going to MIT rests on you.” Peter blushed profusely. He knew Tony thought of his as part of his family, but it was always strange to hear out loud. Tony just chuckled, seeing how embarrassed Peter got and pulled him into a hug. 

“Well Columbia sucks anyways,” Peter said and Tony laughed. Tony let go and Peter looked around again. The campus was relatively quiet, but it was summer vacation. Peter could see Pepper and Morgan, sitting on the grass in the quad. Peter just smiled before continuing to take the whole campus in. It was truly the coolest thing he had seen.

“So do you want to see anything specific while we’re here?” Tony asked. Peter looked at him, eyes wide. “I’m a very prestigious alum and I just kind of saved the entire universe. So I have carte blanche to do whatever I want.”

“I think Mrs. Stark would disagree,” Peter said and Tony playfully rolled his eyes.

“Do you want to see the labs or not?” Peter nodded, his big brown eyes round with excitement. Tony just chuckled and wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulder. He walked towards the science building, listening as Peter excitedly talked about what he was hoping to see.

* * *

Some time later, they were all back in the car. Pepper was in the backseat with Morgan, who had tuckered herself out running around the quad. Pepper also seemed pretty exhausted. So both mother and daughter were fast asleep in the backseat, Morgan tucked into Pepper’s side. Tony couldn’t help but smile seeing the two so content and peaceful.

“Mister Stark?” Peter asked, getting his attention. He glanced at the teenager in the front before setting his eyes back on the road. “Thanks for making that stop.”

“It was on the way,” Tony said with a shrug. It hadn’t been on the way; in fact they had gone out of their way to do it. But it was clear Peter loved it. The kid hadn’t stopped talking about MIT since they left the campus. They had even taken a selfie in front of the Great Dome. Peter had texted it to Ned, who was jealous that a) he got to go visit MIT and b)  _ Holy crap you’re visiting MIT with Iron Man! Dude what even is your life?!  _ Tony had texted the picture to Rhodey, who teased him that driving out of his way to take Peter to see his dream college was such a dad thing to do. 

But then again, Tony had been a dad long before Morgan was born. 

He’d always liked kids, just could never imagine having them. He was too much of a mess himself to take care of someone else, let alone an innocent child. Harley was the first kid that he felt a different sort of protectiveness over. But it had taken years of checking in on Harley and financing his education and experiments before the kid from Tennessee with the potato gun felt like family. 

For Peter, it had been much quicker. 

He should’ve known from the moment he met Peter that the kid was going to weasel his way into his heart. Maybe it was the genius side of Peter; his ability to turn garbage into something great, even when he was just dumpster diving for fun. Maybe it was the spark of heroism when Tony first spoke to him. Or maybe it was the day he turned down being an Avenger. Or maybe it was all those afternoons, working in the lab, listening to Peter as he chattered on excitedly about his day or being Spider-Man. Tony didn’t know when exactly the kid became family, but he was.

“Wow,” Peter mumbled quietly, pulling Tony from his thoughts. He was staring at the sunset. Driving through the open highway of Maine, you could see the sunset clear as day. 

“Don’t get that in New York, huh?” Tony asked with a smirk and Peter shook his head. Tony saw a look-out point up ahead and pulled the car into it. He brought the car to a stop and glanced at Peter. “Thought you might want to get a better look.” Peter smiled brightly before hurrying out of the car.

“What’s going on?” Pepper asked, stirring in the backseat. 

“Just a quick stop,” Tony said, before getting out of the car. He walked over to where Peter was standing. His eyes were wide and full of wonder.

“You know,” Peter started. “I like to just sit at the top of buildings when I’m on patrol. There’s this one building over by the R train where you can see all of Queens. But that view can never top this.” Tony nodded, enjoying the childlike wonder on Peter’s face. 

“You gonna take a picture?” Tony asked and Peter shook his head. 

“Some things don’t need to be documented.” Tony smiled. Sometimes, Peter said or did things that reminded Tony how smart the kid really was. 

“Mommy it’s so pretty!” Tony turned to see Pepper approaching with Morgan. Morgan, a little sleepy, ran over to Peter. Peter picked her up, allowing her to see the view better. Pepper walked up to Tony and wrapped her arm around his arm. And Tony just smiled, taking in the view and this quiet moment with his family. 

* * *

They reached their destination a little after midnight. The lights were on in the house, which meant someone was awake. As Tony pulled into the driveway, he almost felt bad that the drive was over. He glanced at the backseat, where Peter and Morgan were. Morgan had, at some point after the last stop, pulled herself into Peter’s lap. Her tiny arms were wrapped around his midsection, her head pressed against his T-shirt. Peter had his arms wrapped protectively around her. Tony just smiled. 

“Better wake them up,” Pepper said gently. Tony nodded and reached backwards, shaking Peter’s knee. 

“We’re here kid.” Peter opened his eyes slowly, a confused and sleepy look crossing his face. “C’mon Pete. I bet a bed is going to be more comfortable than the car.” Peter nodded and looked down at Morgan in his lap, before carefully maneuvering himself out of the car. Pepper met him just outside of the passenger door and he handed the sleeping five-year-old to her. Tony got out of the car and walked over to Peter, as Pepper brought Morgan inside. Peter glanced up at him, the sleepiness evident in his eyes. Tony just pulled him in for a hug. He then gently clapped Peter on the shoulder and walked him towards the house. The door to the house opened, revealing May, Rhodey and Happy. 

“Hi sweetie,” May said, smiling at Peter. “You look exhausted. Time for bed.” The teenager nodded and started to follow his aunt inside. 

“Night Mister Stark,” Peter said, the drowsiness evident in his voice. Tony ruffled Peter’s hair, earning a sleepy grin from the teen.

“Night kid.” And then Peter headed inside with May. 

“Long drive?” Rhodey asked as Tony approached him and happy. 

“Not too bad,” Tony said with a smirk. And he was telling the truth. It would have been a long drive, but they found some way to make it a fun road trip. And as exhausted as he was, he wouldn’t have traded that day for anything.

It had all been worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Scream with me on my Tumblr? https://doctornineandthreequarters.tumblr.com/


End file.
